Runco Lightstyle LS-10d Projector Review

March 17, 2011 - Art Feierman

Runco LS-10 Shadow Detail Performance

Keeping in mind that the LS-10d does very dark blacks, it also does particularly well on dark shadow detail. It’s certainly right up there with some of the best. I note frequently, that projectors with poor black level performance, in elevating the “near blacks” so they are above the black level “floor”, means that those dark details are already being raised up in brightness, and no longer really that dark. Projectors like the Runco, which have great blacks, have to lift the near blacks barely at all, and as a result, those dark shadow details are hard to see, because they are, so close to black.

Certainly call the LS-10d’s shadow detail performance to be really very good, when everything is in perspective. No issues here!

Below, the Space Cowboys / Clint Eastwood very dark image. First is the Runco LS-10d projector, then, of course, the LS-7, then the JVC RS25, the Sony VPL-VW85, the Mitsubishi HC7000, and the Epson Home Cinema 8500UB.

Note the noticeable difference in color is due to the different camera used for the LS10 shoot.

Again, from Space Cowboys, this is a cropped image. The right side is very bright (so dynamic irises will not be effective). The LS-10d (top left) does very well, in terms of shadow detail. Next to it on the first row, is the Epson Home Cinema 8500UB/Pro Cinema 9500UB, Those images are followed by the InFocus SP8602 and the JVC RS-35 (second row). The third row is the Mitsubishi HC7000 (left), and the Sony VPL-VW85.

On the left, below, is the Runco LS-10d, the middle, the JVC RS35, and on the right, the VPL-VW85. The exposures are all a little different, but you should be able to appreciate the combination of shadow detail and dark blacks

Below is a heavily overexposed scene from Lord of the Rings. The overexposure lets you see all the details in the shed on the right, the structure on the left, and the plants and ground along the lower right.

The Runco LS-10d projector performs very well, but keep in mind, when looking at these images, that the JVC RS35 (center and left) was not only shot with a different camera, but was taken from the standard DVD version, not Blu-ray like the Runcos.

Click on left thumbnail image for the Runco LS-10d, PT-AE4000 in the center, and the right for the JVC DLA-RS35.

Our Casino Royale night train scene,the first four examples: The LS-10d, the RS35 followed by the RS25 and the Sony VW85. (The LS-10d is slightly more overexposed than the others.)

True, the Runco LS-10d does very nicely, but it is not the best of the projectors at revealing the darkest shadow detail. A slightly different gamma in the darkest regions might reveal a touch more, but there is almost no crushing the way Mike set the brightness. Still, looking at the shrubs on the right on the far side of the tracks, and some of the woods behind them, you can find more detail on a few of the other images (projectors). That said, in the real world, on similar sized screens,the LS-10 seems to reveal more, simply by virtue of everything – including the darkest details being 2-4 times brighter than most other quality home theater projectors we review.